Glucerna Shakes Reviews – Are The Shakes Any Good?

Glucerna is a popular brand for diabetics, offering a selection of shakes and snacks to minimize blood sugar spikes. While there are plenty of Glucerna shakes reviews out there, most look at the shakes on their own.

We’re doing things a little differently in this review, by looking at what people have to say about the shakes and how they compare to other brands. We’ll also talk about the implications of these shakes for seniors.

Glucerna Products

Glucerna shakes and bars have been carefully designed for people with prediabetes and diabetes. Not only are they relatively low in sugar, but the shakes also use low-glycemic carbohydrates, which should further reduce the blood sugar impact.

Still, as you’ll see, the sugar content isn’t as low as you might expect for diabetic shakes.

Glucerna also offers fewer products than brands like Boost and Ensure. This isn’t a bad thing, as the smaller selection makes it easier to find the products that work for you. Honestly, the product ranges from Boost and Ensure are a little ridiculous at times.

For customers in the United States, the product selection looks like this:

• Glucerna Shake. The original shake from Glucerna, available in three main flavors.
• Glucerna Original Snack Shake. A lower protein shake that’s surprisingly high in sugar.
• Glucerna Hunger Smart Shake. A higher protein shake with 15 grams of protein per serving. 
  • Glucerna Hunger Smart Meal Size Shake. This shake offers 22 grams of protein per serving and only slightly increases the sugar content.
  • Glucerna Hunger Smart Powder. This powdered version works well when mixed with milk or in a smoothie. It also has just 1 gram of sugar per serving.
• Glucerna Protein Smart Shake. This is the best prepared shake from Glucerna, with just 3 grams of sugar per serving and an impressive 30 grams of protein.
• Glucerna Mini Treats. These little bars work well as sweet diabetic snacks and don’t contain too much sugar.

There have been other products, like Glucerna Advance and Glucerna Snack Bars. These no longer feature on the Glucerna site and appear to have been discontinued.

Glucerna Shake

• Calories: 180
• Protein: 10 grams
• Fat: 9 grams
• Fiber: 4 grams
• Sugars: 4 grams
• Flavors: Rich Chocolate, Homemade Vanilla, Creamy Strawberry

This is Glucerna’s classic shake, the one you’ll most often see at stores. It’s sometimes promoted as a meal replacement shake, but the protein content is too low for that.

Including 4 grams of sugar is a little unusual in a shake for diabetics, especially as this one only has 10 grams of protein per serving.

The shake also has a total of 16 grams of carbs per serving, only 4 of which come from fiber. This carb content could lead to unexpected blood sugar spikes for people sensitive to the ingredients used.

Like all the shakes from Glucerna, this product has a long ingredients list that includes some artificial ingredients like sucralose and artificial flavors. The ingredients list is certainly concerning. It’s a reason to have the shakes every so often instead of most days.

Glucerna Original Snack Shake

• Calories: 140
• Protein: 7 grams
• Fat: 5 grams
• Fiber: 3 grams
• Sugars: 5 grams
• Flavors: Rich Chocolate, Homemade Vanilla

The Snack Shakes are even less attractive than the regular shake. The snack version is the same size, but contains just 7 grams of protein and a full 5 grams of sugar. The protein to sugar ratio is awful and creates an unhealthy shake.

This time, there are also almost 20 grams of carbs and only 3 grams of these come from fiber. This pattern is repeated across most of Glucerna’s shakes and is surprising given the diabetic focus. In contrast, Boost’s high protein glucose control shake contains just 6 grams of carbs.   

Glucerna Hunger Smart Shake

• Calories: 180 calories
• Protein:15 grams
• Fat: 8 grams
• Fiber: 6 grams
• Sugars: 6 grams
• Flavors: Rich Chocolate, Homemade Vanilla, Creamy Strawberry

This version is promoted as a meal replacement shake, although 15 grams of protein is a little low for that goal. The sugar content is up to 6 grams with this product, which isn’t great for a diabetic shake. Still… at least the protein-to-sugar ratio is getting better.

Glucerna Hunger Smart Meal Size Shake

• Calories: 250 calories
• Protein: 23 grams
• Fat: 11 grams
• Fiber: 7 grams
• Sugars: 8 grams
• Flavors: Rich Chocolate, Homemade Vanilla

This shake works better as a meal replacement, offering 23 grams of protein per serving. That should be enough to keep you satisfied, especially with 11 grams of fat as well.

The familiar issue with sugar and carb content remains, and could lead to a blood sugar spike. You’ll need to experiment to see how your body responds to the shakes.

Glucerna Hunger Smart Powder

• Calories: 130 calories
• Protein: 22 grams
• Fat: 2 grams
• Fiber: <1 gram
• Sugars: 1 gram
• Flavors: Rich Chocolate, Homemade Vanilla

This product is a little different, as it’s a powder that you mix yourself. The nutritional profile above is for a single scoop of the powder, which you then mix in milk. You could also use the powder in a smoothie or perhaps coffee, especially if you’re not fond of the flavor.

This is the product shake to have a decent amount of protein and barely any sugar, making it the best choice from the Glucerna range.

That said, the nutrient profile is for the powder only. You’ll get some extra sugar if you mix this powder into milk or a smoothie. 

Glucerna Protein Smart Shake

• Calories: 150 calories
• Protein: 30 grams
• Fat: 1.5 grams
• Fiber: 4 grams
• Sugars: 3 grams
• Flavors: Chocolate, Vanilla

This is the healthiest shake Glucerna offers, with 30 grams of protein and just 3 grams of sugar per serving. It even comes in at just 7 grams of total carbs, 4 of which come from fiber.

So, of all the Glucerna shakes, this one is least likely to impact your blood sugar. It isn’t the most well-known Glucerna shake, so it might be tricky to find them in local stores. You might need to order the shake online instead.

Glucerna Mini Treats

• Calories: 80 calories
• Protein: 3.5 grams
• Fat: 3.5 grams
• Fiber: 2 grams
• Sugars: 3 grams
• Flavors: Chocolate Peanut and Chocolate Caramel

Glucerna currently offers just one snack bar, these Mini Treats (there were other bars in the past, but these are no longer listed on the Glucerna site). The mini treat bars are low in calories and relatively low in sugar, so they’re not too bad – as long as you see them as treats. At 3.5 grams of protein per serving, the treat bars certainly won’t make you satisfied.  

Still, you’d get a healthier and tastier treat by simply eating dark chocolate. After all, these bars are heavily processed and most of the ingredients aren’t good for you.

Glucerna Shakes Reviews

Reviews for Glucerna are generally positive. The original shake averages around 4.7 stars on Amazon, with close to 7,500 ratings. The Hunger Smart version is even more impressive, with more than 9,000 ratings and a similar star average.

Positive aspects from reviews include:

• Appealing flavor
• Is filling for a few hours
• Tastes like a treat
• Good cold or at room temperature
• Prevents blood sugar spikes

Negative aspects include:

• Shakes only fill you for 2-3 hours, which isn’t enough for a meal replacement shake (however, the higher protein shakes may be more effective at this than the basic Glucerna shake)
• Slight eggy aftertaste from the protein
• Packaging makes the shakes difficult to open
• Can lead to flatulence

Personal Glucerna Review

The concept of Glucerna shakes is certainly appealing. I like how diabetics can be confident about their entire product range, without needing to carefully read nutrition labels.

The limited number of items is also appealing. Brands like Boost and Ensure can get a bit overwhelming, as they have so many different products to choose from. Glucerna only has a handful and the differences between them are easy to spot.

That aside, most of the shakes aren’t that good nutritionally. Many contain more sugar and carbs than I’d expect for a diabetic shake. They’re also highly processed.

Also, there isn’t much evidence that Glucerna is better for diabetics than low sugar protein shakes. The research Glucerna points to compares their shakes to instant oatmeal, which isn’t really a fair comparison at all.

After all, instant oatmeal is high in carbs and is quickly digested, while low sugar shakes are generally lower in carbs. It would be better to compare Glucerna’s shakes to those from other brands, but the company doesn’t offer this data. That’s not surprising, as many low sugar shakes will have a similar blood sugar effect to Glucerna.

In fact, shakes with just 1 gram of sugar per serving might even be better for diabetics than Glucerna.

Glucerna shakes are still worth it if you enjoy them. If you don’t, there are plenty of other shakes out there.

Glucerna vs Boost and Ensure

Boost and Ensure are two other popular meal shake brands. We’ve even compared the various Boost and Ensure products in another post.

The biggest difference between the brands is that Glucerna is designed for diabetics, while Boost and Ensure are not.

Despite this, both Ensure and Boost do have some products that work for diabetics. The most notable are the following:

• Boost Max Nutritional Shake. Contains 160 calories, 30 grams of protein, and 1 gram of sugar per serving.
• Boost Glucose Control Nutritional Drink. Contains 190 calories, 16 grams of protein, and 4 grams of sugar per serving.
• Boost Glucose Control Max 30g Protein Nutritional Drink. Contains 160 calories, 30 grams of protein, and 1 gram of sugar per serving.
• Ensure Max Protein. Contains 150 calories, 30 grams of protein, and 1 gram of sugar per serving.
• Ensure High Protein. Contains 160 calories, 16 grams of protein, and 4 grams of sugar per serving.  

Are Meal Replacement Shakes Worth It?

Glucerna, Boost, and Ensure are just three brands that offer protein shakes. There are countless others, all with their own marketing and nutrient balance.

Some products are designed to replace meals, while others function more as snacks that add calories and nutrients.

But, why bother?

Homemade food with natural ingredients is obviously a healthier choice than a pre-prepared shake. Even homemade protein shakes are better than the pre-prepared ones.

Despite this, the shakes on this list have their benefits.

• They often contain extra nutrients. This style can improve nutrient intake, especially for seniors who do not want to eat regularly.
• They taste good. While opinions about taste always vary, many people do enjoy the taste of the shakes. For example, some of the products from Boost, Ensure and Glucerna taste like flavored milk. This style makes it much easier to get seniors to eat the food.
• There is no chewing involved. Shakes are a good alternative to soft food. They’re easy to consume, even for people who face eating challenges.
• They’re fast and easy. Caregivers are often short on time. There are many situations where an easy solution to food is needed and protein shakes are one such solution.
• They’re portable. Shakes from companies like Glucerna don’t need to be stored in the fridge. This means you can slip a bottle in your bag and keep it on you. Doing so helps to keep you prepared.

Glucerna shakes don’t need to replace healthy eating anyway. You can simply use them as an option for the times where regular meals simply don’t work.

Final Thoughts

Glucerna’s shakes aren’t horrible. They’re simply not as unusual or amazing as the marketing suggests.

The only unusual thing that Glucerna offers is CARBSTEADY, which apparently means the carbs are released more slowly. But, the shakes also contain more carbs than some other low sugar sugars, so even the CARBSTEADY feature isn’t that exciting.